Razor blade dispenser



Sept. 25, 1951 Filed April 12, 1946 J. G. ROBERTS RAZOR BLADE DISPENSER2 Sheets-Sheet l INVEN'TQR P 1951 J. G. ROBERTS 2,569,072

RAZOR BLADE DISPENSER Filed April 12, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ofblades. ing is accomplished by finger depression of one end of thestack, while the other end remains- Patented Sept. 25, 1951 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE RAZOR BLADE DISPENSER John G. Roberts, Dobbs Ferry,N. Y.

Application April 12, 1946, Serial No. 661,741

This application relates to the packaging of razor blades and is acontinuation-in-part of Patent 2,411,669, issued November 26, 1946. Theinvention has for its objects to simplify and economize in themanufacture of the container element, to facilitate assembly of theblades therein, to provide better regulation of blade withdrawals, torender blade disposals easier, and to give the blades better protection.

In the drawings, which show, for illustrative purposes only, a preferredform of the invention:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an assembled package;

Figs. 2', 3, and 4 are enlarged fragmentary views of the container ofFig. 1, Fig. 2 being a sectional view taken in the plane 2-2 of Fig. 1,Fig. 3 a sectional view taken in the plane 33 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 abottom view of the arrangement in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 illustrates a method of assembling the package with fresh blades;

Fig. 6 shows the method of extracting a fresh blade;

Fig. '7 shows the method of inserting a used blade for disposal thereof;and

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of an unstressed, preferred blade-liftingmeans.

Broadly speaking, my invention contemplates a razor-blade container inwhich a stack of blades is resiliently held against a top portion of thecontainer and in which the blades are removable through an opening onlywhen the stack is tilted with respect to the container. Thus, when notin use, the container may provide complete blade protection, whileadditionally affording protection to the user against accidentaldisplacement In the form to be described, the tiltresiliently held inabutment with the top portion. The lower surface of the top portion isso formed, however, that the undepressed end of the'stack rocks about afulcrum on said lower surface; since this fulcrum is preferably spacedtoward the midsection of the container and away from the blade-removalopening, the undepressed end of the topmost blade may (when tilted) bepositioned in line with the opening, for sliding removal from the stack,as by thrusting finger engagement.

Further in accordance with the invention, a method is described for theprecise fabrication of a razor-blade container of the above nature inwhich only one blade can be removed at a time. The method includes astep involving the shearing ofi of excess container material, so as to 1Claim. (01. 20616) define accurately the final dimension of theblade-removal slot. This method is considered well adapted to theconstruction of molded-plastic containers in which moldingconsiderations impose severe limitations on allowable tolerances.

Also, in the arrangement specifically described, the blades arepre-soaked with a highly fluid lubricant. The resilient holding force ispreferably so designed with respect to viscous and other properties ofthe lubricant that this force is sufficient to overcome the force ofgravity on the stack of blades and to hold the topmost blade in abutmentwith the top portion of the container; at the same time, however, theholdin force is insufficient to overcome the force of capillarityrequired to retain a substantial body of said lubricant between theblade faces.

Referring now to the drawings, the container element is shown molded inone piece, preferably of plastic such as cellulose acetate, and isgenerally rectangular in shape. The container is formed of front andrear side walls I2, end walls I4, and top and bottom portions. Thepurpose of the top and bottom portions is to provide means for retaininga stack of blades within the container, the top portion beingsubstantially cut away to permit effective finger engagement with thetopmost blade. In the specific form shown, the top portion does notinclude bridge members, but rather four ears I6, supported at thecorners of the container from front and rear side walls I2; also, thebottom portion does not include ears, but rather a centrally locatedbridge member I8 spanning the side walls I2.

At each corner is an enlarged section 20 of the walls; the section 20 ispreferably cored out as at 22. At least one end and preferably both endsof the container are reduced in height to permit placement of dispensingslots 24 adjoining the underneath surface of the ears I6. The topportion preferably is open throughout except at the ears I6, and thebottom portion preferably is open throughout except at the bridge I8.

As thus constructed, the container defines a blade chamber approximatelythe dimensions of a stack of double-edge razor blades. There is enoughopen space around the edges of the blades to permit free motion of thestack up and down within the container and to avoid contact of thecutting edges with the front and rear side walls. Also, there issuflicient extra space vertically to permit the insertion and freeoperation of bladelifting means, such as a leaf spring 26.

The chamber may be considered as made up of three sections, the earsoverlying the end sections and the bridge underlying the mid-section.Thus, in projecting the ears l6 and the bridge l8 onto a horizontalplane, there is no overlap of these members, one with another. Thisconstruction is such that the container can be fashioned in a simpletwo-part mold.

Frequently, in the simple and relatively inexpensive plastic-moldingprocesses which are contemplated for fabrication of my container,variations occur in the dimensions of the cavities and shrinkages occurin the material as it sets, with the result that close tolerances areoften difficult to meet or to maintain. Such close tolerances areparticularly desirable in the formation of the blade-dispensing slots24, through which only one blade is to be removed at a time.

The blade-exit slots 24 are, therefore, preferably sized after molding,as by a cutting tool 28 (see Fig. 2). The portion of each ear nearest anend of the container slopes upwardly from a fulcrum'line 30 to itsend-edge at:32, and the ends of the container, including the enlargedcorners thereof, slope downwardly from the extreme end 'ed'ge -34 to theedge 36 beneath edge 32. Between the edges 32 and 36 there is thusformedby the mold an opening which is considerably greater than thethickness of a blade. However, inaccordance with the invention, thesloping underneath surface of each ear is provided with an excess ofplastic, such as a depending rib 38 formed 'by the mold. 'Rib 38 mayslope upwardly from'the opening '24 to juncture at a point 45] with thebevel of ear i6, between fulcrum 30 and the end edge 32; in any case,however, the rib or'projection 33 is first formed with a sufficientexcess of material to prevent removal of even a single blade throughslot '24. The distance in height between the edge 35 and the untrimrnedextremity of the rib 38 is, thus, considerably less thanthethickness ofa blade. The purpose .of the -cutting tool 28 is to shear-off or trimaway a portion of the :rib 38'to size the slot 24 precisely so that itwill invariably permit the exit of a single blade, while blocking morethan one blade at a time. In the form shown, tool'28 is slightly thickerthan a razor blade but less than the combined thickness of two blades;this construction permits effective utilization of the relatively flatsurface of .end portion 34 as aguide for the precise spacing of theshornedge of rib 38 from the edge 3-6, as will be clear.

The bridge i8 is beveled as at 4'4 to facilitate the-entrance of bladesinto the bottom of the container. In assembling the blades in the con-;tainer, the :entire stack (usually of about to fl 2zblades lmaybeiinserted partway, as shown in Fig. 5, by passing it under the bridgei8. Upon :furtherinsertion, the stackis flexed slightly .in =order thatthe forward end of it may slide over (in the sense shown in :Fig. 5) theunderneath I surfaceof the ears '26. The spring 26 may be inisertedalong with the stack, or later, as desired. In Fig. '7 it will be seenthat used blades maybe suitably stored ordisposed of by insertion intothebottom of the container .in a manner similar 1 I have obtained 1satisfactory results by employing as this lubricant a non-corrosive,non-drying, refined, and highly fluid mineral oil.

In practice it has been found desirable to add to the mineral oil base asmall amount of indus oil, about 3%, to give extra penetrating qualitiesand a small amount of pine oil, about 2%, to serve as a deodorant. Underthe force of capillarity a substantial body of this lubricant is drawnin between the blade faces. The maintenance of such a body of lubricantbetween blades is considered essential, as the blades must not adhereone to another with frictional effect sufficient to interfere with thewithdrawal forces. The highly fluid state of this liquid insurescontinuous, bliadeedge protection as it flows freely out to and spreadsover the edges.

The lifting force of the spring 26 is determined to be not excessivelygreater than that sufficient to overcome the opposing force of gravityexerted by the stack. A rectangular bowed spring, three or fourthousandths inch thick, of

'cold rolled steel, for example, provides a lifting force upon the fullstack which is at least twice that of the opposing force of gravity.This amply meets the blade-lifting requirement and is insufficient toovercome the force of capillarity thatholds a good body of theabove-described lubricant in place.

Normally, the topmost blade of the stack lies slightly below theuppersurface of the end portions of the container so that it will notreadily become misplaced. To withdraw a blade, as shown in Fig. 6, thepackage is grasped in the fingers withthe thumb pressing down throughthe open top at one end, thereby tilting the stack about the fulcrumline 38. This action brings the topmost blade into line with thedispensing slot 2d,,and on pushing the thumb forward this blade iscaused to emerge over the end wall 34 of the container. The partiallywithdrawn blade may then be grasped and pulled the rest of the way out.

For purposes of clarity, the blade-lifting spring 26 .has not been shownin Fig. 1. It will be appreciated, however, that this :spring .ispreferably the full width of the blades-in order to provide a gooddistribution of lifting .forces on the blades, and to provide forpositional stability. The spring 261s shown in its unfiexed condition inthe side elevation of Fig. 8, and Figs. 5, 6, and '7.i1lustrate itsflexed shapes for the various functions represented inzthese views. Itis clear that, when flexed,.spring 26 .is bowed upwardly for the greater:part of its length; near each end it is turnedslightly downward to forma line of-contact with the bottom of the blade stack approximatelydirectly beneath the fulcrum line 30 of the ears l6. As so'formed,thespring has no tendency'to bow the ends of the uppermost blade intoline with the dispensing slot; furthermore,

:the spring itself is barred from passing into the slot 24. 'It is alsoclear that spring 26 holds the stack in operating position in abutmentwith one of fulcrum lines 30 when downward and ejecting pressures areapplied by finger engagernentwith the top of the stackat the other end(seeiFig. 6).

It will be understood that I have provided :an extremely simple and'rugged razor-blade container and that I have devised simple, and at thesame time relatively inexpensive, methods of fabricating the same. Thecontainer providesa maximum of safety to the user and totheblade edgesthemselves, .and construction features lend themselves to a ready andconvenient use of the device.

It is clear that although the ears l6 forming the top portion of thecontainer chamber are shown and described as being four in number, othersatisfactory arrangements may be devised to accomplish similarfunctions. For example, two diagonally opposite ears could be omittedwithout impairing the ability of the remaining ears ((1) to hold thestack of blades against the upward forces of spring 26 and (b) to limit,as. by the shorn-off ridge 38, extraction of blades through slot 24 toone at a time.

The preferred embodiment of the invention as herein illustrated is welladapted for the packaging of conventional double-edged blades. Suchblades are approximately four, five or six thousandths inch thick and ofstandard lateral dimensions. By the precision method of sizing, asdescribed, it is possible to adopt a single size, about seventhousandths inch, for the slot that will accommodate any of theseblades. The underneath surfaces of the ears extending from the fulcrumline 30 outwardly have slopes of about one in twelve, the upper surfacesof the ends of the container have slopes of about one in twenty four andthe ribs 3 8, before being shorn by the tool 28, slope at about one intwelve. Where shorn these ribs will slope at about one in twenty four.These slope characteristics have been determined as those presentlypreferred for accurately controlling the dispensing of any of these thinwafer-like blades.

Although I have described the invention with particular reference to apreferred form and to preferred methods of fabrication and of assembly,it will be appreciated that modifications may be made without departurefrom the scope of the invention as defined in the claim which follows.

I claim:

A razor blade container comprising two side walls, an end wall, a topportion and a bottom portion defining a chamber conforming to a stack ofsuch blades, said container having a dispensing opening at one endadjacent said top portion, said chamber having end sections and amid-section, said top portion consisting of ears extending part wayinwardly from said side walls and overstanding said end sections but notsaid mid-section, and said bottom section bridging said side walls andunderlying said mid-section but not said end sections.

JOHN G. ROBERTS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 909,110 O'Neil Jan. 5, 1909914,040 Haines Mar. 2, 1909 1,103,977 Marx July 21, 1914 1,669,421 ObergMay 15, 1928 1,791,586 Todd Feb. 10, 1931 1,901,830 Gaisman Mar. 14,1933 1,908,115 Chadwick May 9, 1933 1,909,919 Testi May 16, 19331,935,311 Cook Nov. 14, 1933 2,222,245 Steen Nov. 19, 1940 2,266,887McCoy Dec. 23, 1941 2,287,487 Roberts June 23, 1942 2,309,780 Muros Feb.2, 1943 2,347,737 Fuller May 2, 1944 2,410,311 Steinbach Oct. 29, 19462,411,669 Roberts Nov. 26, 1946 2,439,243 Dalkowitz Apr. 6, 1948 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 749,882 France May 15, 1933

